7th Circuit Backs Use of Fan Footage in Joan Rivers Film

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed dismissal of a suit by a fan whose 16-second backstage discussion with the comedienne Joan Rivers was included in the documentary Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work. Bogie v. Rosenberg, 12-1923.

Ann Bogie had approached Rivers after a show at a Wisconsin casino to obtain Rivers' autograph on a book and to express support for Rivers over heckling from an audience member who was angered by a joke Rivers told about Helen Keller, who had been deaf.

On Bogie's invasion of privacy claim under Wis. Stat. '995.50(2)(a), the appeals court noted that she had spoken to Rivers “in the presence of several security personnel and a film crew. No reasonable person would expect privacy in that situation.” The appeals court added: “Courts have found that even performers themselves cannot count on a reasonable expectation of privacy in their own backstage areas.” Also, “the fact that Bogie was embarrassed to be filmed saying something she regrets having said and now deems offensive does not convert the filming itself into a highly offensive intrusion.”

The appeals court then considered Bogie's '995.50(2)(b) claim of misappropriation of her image without consent for “advertising purposes or for purposes of trade” by looking to New York precedents, because the Wisconsin statute is based on N.Y. Civil Rights Law '50. The appeals court concluded that “the documentary about Rivers is clearly subject to the newsworthiness exception for such claims. Additionally, we think it is clear as a matter of law that Bogie's image is merely incidental to the film, thereby barring her ' claim.”

[Editor's Note: Last month, the Ninth Circuit decided that the heirs of now-deceased Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel signed away their rights to the Man of Steel in a 2001 agreement with Warner Brothers. See the full story online, at www.ljnonline.com/alm?ent.]

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed dismissal of a suit by a fan whose 16-second backstage discussion with the comedienne Joan Rivers was included in the documentary Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work. Bogie v. Rosenberg, 12-1923.

Ann Bogie had approached Rivers after a show at a Wisconsin casino to obtain Rivers' autograph on a book and to express support for Rivers over heckling from an audience member who was angered by a joke Rivers told about Helen Keller, who had been deaf.

On Bogie's invasion of privacy claim under Wis. Stat. '995.50(2)(a), the appeals court noted that she had spoken to Rivers “in the presence of several security personnel and a film crew. No reasonable person would expect privacy in that situation.” The appeals court added: “Courts have found that even performers themselves cannot count on a reasonable expectation of privacy in their own backstage areas.” Also, “the fact that Bogie was embarrassed to be filmed saying something she regrets having said and now deems offensive does not convert the filming itself into a highly offensive intrusion.”

The appeals court then considered Bogie's '995.50(2)(b) claim of misappropriation of her image without consent for “advertising purposes or for purposes of trade” by looking to New York precedents, because the Wisconsin statute is based on N.Y. Civil Rights Law '50. The appeals court concluded that “the documentary about Rivers is clearly subject to the newsworthiness exception for such claims. Additionally, we think it is clear as a matter of law that Bogie's image is merely incidental to the film, thereby barring her ' claim.”

[Editor's Note: Last month, the Ninth Circuit decided that the heirs of now-deceased Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel signed away their rights to the Man of Steel in a 2001 agreement with Warner Brothers. See the full story online, at www.ljnonline.com/alm?ent.]